A Matter of Pride
by trolltasm
Summary: Sesshomaru, much to his own disconcertment, has begun to desire a mate and a pack of his own. Without a specific female in mind, he sets off to find one he feels will suit his needs yet yield a comfortable life and that search leads him to Kagome, his half-brother's priestess. Yet these urges, once awakened, cannot be denied and... well Kagome always did have a penchant for trouble
1. Chapter 1

Sesshomaru stood beneath waterfall and let the water pound his humanoid form.

It was troubling to admit, even to himself, but he didn't know what to do. The desires that had begun to manifest themselves since his power had fully matured were beyond anything he'd ever experienced before—and they were far too strong for him to deny outright.

Yet he hadn't been willing to simply succumb to them and in an urge to try and purge them from his system—or, at the very least, gain some measure of control over them—he'd located a waterfall. Humans, as he recalled, used waterfalls to meditate and when all other recourse had failed him, he had decided it was worth a shot. If it gave him peace of mind, it was worth emulating human monks.

It had been a spectacular failure.

_How Father must be laughing now. _Sesshomaru's lips quirked in dry amusement.

The desires for mate and children—for a pack of his own—had firmly taken hold and would not be dislodged. No matter how he attempted to push it aside, to focus on something else, he found himself circling back. He even _dreamed_ of a pack whenever he settled into sleep.

Even now, when he tried to clear his mind, his thoughts circled back to the idea, churning it over and over in his mind until he could think of nothing else.

Finally, after he'd been standing under the waterfall for most of the afternoon and all of the following night, he accepted that the desire would not be curtailed and resigned himself to his fate. It seemed it was inevitable that he must now begin to seek a mate of his own.

As he stepped out from under the waterfall and reached for the clothing he'd carefully discarded, he felt a familiar sting. His hand moved reflexively and a moment later, he had a squished Myoga sitting in the palm of his hand.

"Sesshomaru-sama," the flea yokai wheezed, slowly puffing himself back up.

He raised a brow but said nothing to his father's old retainer.

"Your blood..." The flea hesitated and then continued, "How are you feeling, Sesshomaru-sama?"

Sesshomaru considered the question, though he saw no reason to answer his father's retainer. He didn't _feel_ any different, not in the ways that mattered; it was simply these pesky urges he'd never before experienced with such strength that were overwhelming him.

Myoga studied him, one if his hands moving to stroke his mustache. "I see," the flea said and Sesshomaru wondered if his father's retainer really _did_ see what Sesshomaru had been struggling with as of late.

What could the flea hope to know about Sesshomaru's inner plight?

However, his next words confirmed Sesshomaru's suspicion. "It is common with your kind, my lord. Both your honorable father and his father before him experienced this when they came fully into their power. But your honorable father passed too soon," Myoga continued with a melancholy air, his entire body trembling with his sorrow. "He did not have the time to explain this to you."

Well, Sesshomaru reflected, that explained why it had been a surprise. But it didn't sound like the flea had a solution and without a solution—aside from the obvious one of finding a mate—he saw no reason to continue the conversation. Myoga hadn't shared anything of great importance.

"If that is all you have to say, then take your leave, flea." Sesshomaru flicked the flea off of his hand and dressed quickly before returning to where Jaken was waiting.

"My lord!" Jaken squawked, scurrying after him as Sesshomaru walked past.

"My lord!" Myoga repeated, leaping up onto Sesshomaru's shoulder.

Sesshomaru was tempted to flick the flea again, but years of dealing with Myoga had taught him that the flea would only stalk him until Mygoa had made his point. "What is it, Myoga?" he asked, resigning himself to continuing a discussion he had no desire to continue.

The flea coughed into his hand. "Ahem. Might I offer you counsel, Sesshomaru-sama?"

Sesshomaru inclined his head slightly.

It was enough for Myoga. "These feelings of yours..." The flea hesitated. "Have they driven you to anyone in particular, my lord?"

If they had, Sesshomaru would likely already pursued them, as shameful as the thought was. He consoled himself with the reminder that no female would turn him down. He had the lineage, title, and power, and wealth on top of that. Not that all yokai female cared about wealth, but his mate would never want for any basic needs, let alone any luxuries she might desire. But still, it was a harrowing thought to realize that his desires had grown beyond his control.

"I see." Myoga began stroking his mustache again. "It was the same for your honorable father, Sesshomaru-sama. The great general traveled the land searching for a female he found worthy. Perhaps you could do the same?"

"This one has already traveled over Nippon," Sesshomaru reminded the flea, disregarding the foolish notion. "If there was a worthy female, this one would have already found her."

"Sesshomaru-sama..." Myoga sighed heavily. "Your desires weren't active then. You may see those same females differently now."

Sesshomaru knocked the flea off of his shoulder. "If those females did not meet this one's standards before," he said, looking over his shoulder at Myoga who lay sprawled on the ground, "then he will not allow this urge to persuade him otherwise now."

Clearly, Myoga had nothing else of value to offer and Sesshomaru saw no point in continuing to indulge the old flea any longer.

"Sesshomaru-sama! Wait!" Myoga called after him as Sesshomaru began to walk out of the learning once more.

"Jaken." Sesshomaru didn't even bother to turn around, knowing the toad would obey. "Come."

Sesshomaru left the clearing as Jaken scrambled after him, but he couldn't leave the problem behind. If these urges would drive him to seek both mate and pack, then it would be on Sesshomaru's own terms. He wouldn't let his own biology dictate his future for him.

If it was a mate he required, then he would find one. But he wasn't about to tie himself to someone he disliked or someone who was inferior. A mating could be severed, but it was often more trouble than it was worth and he wanted to be certain whoever he found would suit his needs. If he was going to be saddled with a mate and eventually young, he wanted to choose a future for himself that would be as comfortable as possible.

The one thing he'd learned from his father was the folly of chasing a mate that did not suit. Sesshomaru would not be so unwise.


	2. Chapter 2

Sesshomaru stepped off of the cloud onto the polished floor at the base of his mother's palace, leaving Jaken to scramble after him as he began to climb the stairs.

Jaken had asked why they were here, but had quickly fallen silent at Sesshomaru's glare.

When he reached the top, his mother was there to greet him with a small smile. "So you're no longer traveling with the human children," she said flatly, showing no surprise at Sesshomaru's unexpected visit. "Though you're still traveling with the little yokai, I see."

Jaken squawked in outrage but both inuyokai ignored him.

Sesshomaru suspected that his mother already knew why he was here, so he didn't bother to explain himself. "Mother," he greeted her simply.

His mother sighed heavily as she sank down on her throne. "You really do take after your father in the most unusual ways, Sesshomaru." Her tone expressed disappointment but she didn't fully conceal the pride in her eyes as she saw the new blade at his side.

"Will you take a human woman as well?" she asked, resting her chin on her hand as she gave off an aura of ennui.

Sesshomaru wasn't fooled; his mother might _act_ disinterested, but they both knew she was interested in knowing who Sesshomaru would choose as his mate to form the basis of his own pack. "This one has not selected a mate yet." He humored her with his answer, but knew his mother already had determined that.

His mother studied him for a moment and then sighed again. "You haven't come here seeking your honorable mother's advice." It was a statement, not a question, as though she had just come to that conclusion herself.

He allowed her the pretense. "This one has traveled through Nippon, Mother, but has not found a mate he could tolerate."

His mother clicked her tongue derisively. "You are too selective, Sesshomaru," she chided him. "Any female will do for the purpose of bearing young. There is no need to look so intently. You can always discard her after she has birthed your child."

He could, and Sesshomaru had initially considered it when the urges had come upon him. He doubted that merely having a child would quell the urge, however, and as the feeling had grown in intensity, he had come to the realization that if he cast off one female, he would be driven to find another. A child did not make a pack. A child would give him purpose enough, pushing away the feeling of ennui that had begun to develop since he had surpassed his father. All of his goals and ambitions had been achieved, leaving him with no direction for the future. A child and a mate would give him something to protect, something to invest in, and it was for that reason his logical side had come into accord with his baser instincts.

But if he was going to settle with a mate and child or children for the remainder of his long life, he would not settle.

"What of the human child?" she probed, her expression carefully neutral. "In a few years, she will mature. You could always take her."

He couldn't keep the revulsion from his expression. He cared for Rin, but it was a different sort of affection, like he might feel for anyone in his pack. He felt no desire to mate her and was confident that would not change.

How could anyone desire a child they had been caring for since she was young? In his mind, she would always be the young orphan child who had cared for him when he hadn't even been bothered to care for himself. Even as she grew, he had difficulty seeing the maturation of her features as anything beyond the inevitable signs of aging.

Even if he could look past all of that—and he couldn't—Rin would die before their young had fully matured. It brought a pang to his heart, but it was an inevitable one that came with affections for beings with such a short lifespan. He couldn't stop his feelings of care and concern for the girl, but he had already begun to prepare himself for the loss he would one day endure when her life came to an end.

That thought also brought to mind the same issue he'd had with a mate to discard after young were produced. He would be forced to seek another mate and he had no desire to repeat the search later on. Once was quite enough. He wouldn't repeat the embarrassment and frustration.

"No," he said shortly, well aware of the emotion in that single word that he couldn't fully hide.

There was a quiet approval in his mother's eyes, though she didn't voice it, and he realized she'd been testing him. Whether she'd wanted to deduce if he had greater feelings for Rin than he'd let on or if he'd be content to settle for an easily accessible mate, he didn't know, but it hardly mattered. It wouldn't have changed his answer. "This one has her handmaidens here," she offered him.

His lip curled. "No," he repeated just as shortly. He had no desire for his mother's handmaidens, who often squabbled amongst themselves for her favor and for any hint of additional prestige for themselves and their families.

He would have a mate and a pack, but Sesshomaru wasn't the type to settle down into a life of political court intrigue like the one his mother enjoyed. She loved her games and machinations but they left him weary. He could yield his quiet to rid himself of these urges, but he would only bend so far. He had no desire for a mate who would try to use her own ploys to raise herself higher, nor did he wish for a home where everything he said or did must be thought through or guarded to prevent them being used against him.

If he _must_ have a mate, then he wanted one that would suit him and fit into his life comfortably.

"Well, what _do_ you want?" His mother's voice broke into his thoughts with an air of annoyance. "Tell your mother so that she might help you, Sesshomaru."

It was why he'd come after spending several weeks wandering following his encounter with Myoga. He'd come across many different females during that time, yokai and human alike—it was almost as if they'd known his plight and had begun to seek him out in the hopes he might choose them to be his mate—but none had drawn them in.

"Humans die too quickly." He wasn't quick to answer her as he thought through the characteristics he had been mulling over since these troublesome urges had begun.

"So you seek a yokai." His mother gave an approving nod of her head as she opened her fan and lightly began fanning her face.

"None of the yokai females have been found satisfactory." He lifted his chin as he stared down at his mother. "This one does not want a female who seeks to use him to bolster her own prowess or reputation. Very few higher-based yokai have the characteristics this one seeks and he will not mate with a lower-based yokai."

"Then choose a hanyo." His mother looked less pleased at the idea but she didn't waste her time trying to dissuade them. "There are enough of them around with humanoid forms, Sesshomaru."

"They also do not suit this one." Sesshomaru began to wonder if it had been wise to seek his mother's council after all. Yet he could think of no one else to turn to. Bokuseno had known little about Sesshomaru's affliction outside of how it affected him and though the old tree was wise, he had little experience in matchmaking, a fact the old yokai had readily admitted. "They, too, die too soon to suit this one."

"You take after your father's strangest qualities, Sesshomaru." She closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them, the melancholy air gone. His mother snapped her fan shut as as she said, "So you don't want to mate with a yokai that can't take humanoid form."

At his nod, she continued, "And you also do not desire a yokai seeking a mating for prestige or power, nor do you desire a human or hanyo that will die too soon. What do you expect is left, Sesshomaru? Will you ask one of the kami to come down and mate with you?"

There was a teasing smirk to her lips. Sesshomaru would not allow anyone to bait him, not even his mother, so he ignored her last comment.

"What a pity," his mother mused with exaggerated sorrow. "This one's only son will be forever unmated while his weaker half-brother has found not one but two females worthy of mating the hanyo. What a pity indeed."

There was something odd about the fact that his mother had brought up InuYasha when she'd never spoken of the hanyo before, but it was odder still that she'd chosen to mention InuYasha's priestess. He circled back to what he knew of the human woman, but he had to admit, it wasn't much. She was powerful, there was no denying that. She alone had been able to purify the husk of Naraku's prone body, well before it had landed on the ground and destroyed several_ ri_ of land. She had been powerful enough that the Shikon jewel had feared her power enough to seal the bulk of it away and yet she had still had a vast store of it to use, he thought to himself, remembering the arrows she'd shot at him on more than one occasion. She had even been strong enough to withstand his _doku _when he'd attempted to rid both himself and InuYasha of her constant interference in his father's remains.

She had both courage and warmth, with loyalty to offer in spades. If she had not already been involved with his half-brother—and hadn't been human—he might have considered her, and would have at the very least investigated if she was worth pursing in the first place, but the idea of sharing a woman with InuYasha was distasteful.

So why had his mother brought up InuYasha?

His eyes narrowed as he met his mother's amused glance. She would say no more, he realized. He turned and left her palace, ignoring her soft chime of laughter as he left. He would take the clue she'd given him and see where it led. Perhaps she hadn't even been referring to InuYasha's human priestess as a possible mate, but he couldn't disregard her words entirely. His mother might speak in riddles, but she did not lie and she would not deliberately mislead her son.

He took to the air as Jaken scrambled onto his cloud after him, and began the search for his irritable half-brother.

.

Kagome sighed as she relaxed in the hot spring. She had accompanied InuYasha and Miroku on their latest yokai cleansing, but it had lacked the excitement of days gone by. Without Naraku, it seemed too easy. The entire situation had been resolved in well under five minutes, though Miroku had of course gone through the motions of a full cleansing to appease the wealthy merchant who had been plagued by a rather simple snake yokai.

_That's a selfish thing to think, Kagome,_ she chided herself. _You wouldn't want Naraku bad back just so things would be more fun for you._

She sank lower in the hot water as a feeling of depression washed over her. They hadn't even needed her help; she'd had just enough time to notch her arrow before InuYasha's claws had made short work of the yokai. He hadn't even drawn his sword and there had been an air of boredom even on Miroku's face, though he'd hidden it well in the presence of the merchant.

Still, though she didn't wish for another Naraku, she couldn't help but wish things had been livelier since she'd returned to the past. The most excitement she'd had in the last few months was whatever trouble Miroku's and Sango's twins had gotten into—and lately, it often involved their newborn brother.

"Oy! Yah bastard, what're you doin' here?"

Kagome heard InuYasha's loud growl and figured there were two likely culprits: Koga or Sesshomaru. Resigned, she hurried out of the water and quickly dressed so she could return to the other two in the clearing where they'd made camp. It had taken over a day to get to the merchant's house, even with Kirara's help, and they'd been forced to camp on the way there and now on the way home.

Just as she'd suspected, she found InuYasha standing toe-to-toe with his half-brother, growling up a storm at the inuyokai. Sesshomaru, on the other hand, seemed nonplused. If anything, she'd say he was amused by InuYasha's posturing. Jaken, of course, was present as well, but no one seemed to be paying any attention at all to his loud proclamations of Sesshomaru's might.

"InuYasha," he greeted his half-brother. "Still running rabid, are you?"

InuYasha rose to the bait, just as Kagome knew he would. "You looking for a fight, Sesshomaru?" he hissed, brandishing his sword at Sesshomaru. "'Cause if you are, I'll happily give it to you!"

"Knock it off, InuYasha," Kagome said tiredly and then wondered why she bothered. InuYasha had been growing restless since she'd returned and perhaps a fight with his brother would mellow him out. InuYasha wasn't settling into a quiet domestic life any better than she was—in fact, it seemed like he was handling it worse. It had driven both of them to take the fledgling relationship slow when their friends had all urged them to wed _now_ and not waste time. InuYasha often wandered around the village and the forest she'd found him in and Kagome couldn't entirely blame him. She found herself wandering, too, under the pretense of gathering herbs for her training with Kaede.

"Stay outta this, K'gome." InuYasha didn't even look back at her. "This is between the bastard and me."

"Hnn." Sesshomaru seemed as disinterested in fighting his brother as InuYasha was in fighting him. "Sheathe your sword, InuYasha, before this one decides to give you instruction on holding it properly."

Kagome exchanged a resigned look with Miroku. Those words had been enough to provoke a fight and they both knew it.

When the dirt and dust had settled, InuYasha was out cold in the middle of the clearing, his sword once again transformed back into a rusty thin blade. Sesshomaru had wielded his blade Bakusaiga with one hand, but that hadn't stopped him from using his claws on InuYasha anymore than Tessiaga had stopped InuYasha from using his own claws.

Miroku coughed into his hand as Sesshomaru flicked blood off his claws. "Ah, Kagome-san?" He gave her an odd look as she looked at her friend. "Shouldn't you tend to InuYasha?"

She froze. It was the first time InuYasha had been injured that she hadn't immediately rushed over to the hanyo. She looked over that the hanyo and was relieved to see the bleeding from his brother's claws had already begun to slow. InuYasha would be just fine and since he continued to brush off any of her attempts to use what Kaede had taught her to heal him, she didn't see a reason to rush over to him now that Miroku had pointed that out.

"I'm more concerned about why Sesshomaru is still here," she whispered to Miroku, hoping the full-blooded yokai couldn't hear them.

Miroku seemed to accept her reasoning. "It _is_ odd," he mused, absently stroking the arm where his wind tunnel had been. "Normally he beats InuYasha and then leaves."

"Exactly." Kagome nodded. "So why is he still here?"

Sesshomaru stepped directly in front of Kagome, forcing her to look up at him. If she didn't know any better, she'd guessed the inuyokai had heard them and was amused by their words. "This one wishes to speak with you, priestess."

It was _not_ what she'd been expecting him to say but the expression on his face told her that _they_ would speak, whether she wanted to or not. She licked her dry lips and nodded. "Tell InuYasha I'll be right back if he wakes up while I'm gone," she said quietly to Miroku.

"Kagome-san, I don't think—" Miroku began but he didn't get another word in because Sesshomaru pulled Kagome on his cloud and took off, leaving Jaken sputtering at the indignation of being left behind.


	3. Chapter 3

"So," Kagome began awkwardly as they flew on his cloud through the sky. "What did you want to talk about?"

She wasn't sure where he was taking her—if he even _had_ a specific destination in mind—but the sooner they talked about whatever he wanted to talk to her about, the sooner she could return to her friends.

_Not that you're in any hurry_, the annoying voice in her head reminded her. _This is the most excitement you've had in weeks._

Sesshomaru looked down at her and if she didn't know any better, she'd have said he hesitated. But hesitation was an odd word to associate with someone whose name literally invoked images of murder and who had a long history of demonstrating a desire for quick action, so she dismissed the idea as soon as it appeared in her mind.

"Tell this one of the female yokai you are," he paused to lick his lower lip but he spoke confidently as he continued, "_friends_ with."

Kagome stared at him but she sensed he wasn't in the mood for questions, no matter how much his questioning took her aback.

"Well," she began, hoping Sesshomaru would explain himself at some point but doubting he actually would, "there's Ayame."

At his blank expression, she realized that names would mean nothing to him and rushed to explain, "She's the wolf yokai who recently mated Koga. You may remember him; he had shards in his legs and—"

"This one is not interested in the wolf."

_Ooookay_... Kagome was even more curious now. Why has he asked her about her friends if he wasn't interested?

Kagome tried again. "Well, there's Shiori. Technically, she's a young bat hanyo, but—"

"This one is not interested in this bat hanyo, either," Sesshomaru was quick to interrupt.

Kagome struggled to think of another female yokai she was on good terms with that Sesshomaru wouldn't already know.

"It might help if I knew what you _were_ interested in," she told him, pushing aside her frustration. She finally gave into the urge and asked, "Why do you want to know who my yokai friends are, Sesshomaru?"

He landed his cloud beside a small river and she noticed that he didn't meet her gaze.

Sighing, she figured that meant be wasn't inclined to answer her question.

"I'm only asking so I can help," she explained when he remained silent. "I'm sorry, Sesshomaru, but I don't know a lot of female yokai. But if you tell me why, I'll try and think of everyone I met to see who could help."

Sesshomaru seemed to mull over her words. After a moment, he took to the air on his cloud again, leaving her alone by the river and quite bemused.

.

Why had his mother suggested Kagome? The question continued to reverberate through his mind as he left InuYasha's woman behind, but no answer came forth.

His half-brother's woman knew of no suitable females for mating. It had been clear that the only two she'd suggested were unsuitable for mating and she'd failed to produce any other suggestions after he'd immediately disregarded those two.

Though he wasn't sure any friends of hers _would_ be worthy of mating him, it was a possibility he couldn't ignore outright when options were so limited for viable partners who met his standards.

Yet it had turned out to be naught but a loose end.

_So why had his mother mentioned her?_ Try as he might, he could not get the question out of his mind. He continued to puzzle over it, scarcely paying attention to the passage of time as he flew across Nippon and finally settled into a hot spring deep within the mountains. It was a place inaccessible to humans, which made it the perfect place for him to sit and reflect on the puzzling matter until he could confidently reach some sort of conclusion.

He disrobed, neatly setting aside his armor, clothing, and sword before wading into the water and stretching out.

He ran his fingers through his hair, still absently taken aback by the feeling of two hands sifting through the strands when he'd been accustomed to one for so long following his ill-fated battle with InuYasha.

It wasn't likely his mother had suggested the girl as his mate, not when he'd dismissed humans as soon as she'd mentioned them as a possibility, so he didn't even bother to consider that avenue. He'd assumed his mother had meant that the girl would know of a viable mate for him, but that had turned out to be incorrect as well.

He thought back to the little he knew of the priestess who followed his brother around. He knew she was foreign from the odd comments he'd heard over the years and had assumed initially that she'd come from the continent. Later, he'd learned she had ties to the Bone Eater's well and assumed it was due to her priestess heritage or reiki. He had also learned that the woman was supposed to be the reincarnation of the first priestess InuYasha had loved, the one for whom he'd turned his back on his family and his honor. That had seemed odd, but Sesshomaru had little interest in reincarnation itself so he'd paid it little attention and the time and wasn't concerned about it now.

She cared for everyone she came across, regardless of their blood or power. A kit, he recalled, had regularly traveled with her and she'd seemed to have some familial affection for the boy, taking on the role of perhaps an older sister. She had done the same with Rin, he realized. She'd even loved InuYasha, doing everything she could to protect him even when his yokai blood had taken over.

It was odd, he mused to himself, that InuYasha had not yet formally tied himself to the girl. When she'd first reappeared, he'd assumed it was a forgone conclusion, but he had scented no mingling of their scents and their behavior had not appeared in any way loverlike.

Not that InuYasha was likely to act differently, as ill-mannered as the hanyo had grown to be, but he suspected the priestess would have changed demeanor if that had been indeed the case.

She had also developed remarkably good aim with her bow, though she remained useless with other weaponry—a pitiful oversight InuYasha had not seen fit to correct. If Kagome had been _his _mate, the girl would never have been allowed to be so lacking in her own protection, but evidently InuYasha could not have been bothered.

The thought of mating the girl went as quickly as it'd come, never fully settling long enough for him to reflect on. Instead, he thought of the few instances he'd seen the girl in battle and the powerful strength in her frail body—and then remembered she'd once housed the timeless Shikon jewel within her body, an accidental slip he'd once overheard from InuYasha's pack when he'd been passing the girl.

_It was strange,_ he thought to himself, thinking back to the days of Naraku, the jewel's obsession with the girl. _She was just a priestess, yet it feared her more than any other. But why?_

It had even feared the priestess over Sesshomaru himself. But why would it fear a human girl doomed to die within such a short period of time? Why had it listened to her command and no other? Why had she been the one able to rid the world of it when all else had failed?

He circled back to a question he'd once asked her long ago: _what_, exactly, was Kagome Higurashi?

Try as he might, it was a question he still could not ascertain the answer to.

.

It had taken InuYasha until the following morning to locate her by the river, but by then, the worst of his injuries had long since healed.

To Kagome's surprise, Jaken came with her friends. Having been abandoned by his lord, he'd decided to follow InuYasha and visit with Rin until Sesshomaru reappeared—and Jaken was confident that he would. Eventually.

Evidently, Sesshomaru regularly abandoned the toad, leaving Jaken to make his own way until the inuyokai finally returned.

Kagome felt a little bad for the abandoned toad, though he'd made it clear he neither wanted nor needed her pity.

Since the river had been in the opposite direction of the village by the well, it had taken them even longer to get home and Jaken spent most of that time talking about the greatness of Sesshomaru.

Jaken did, however, let it drop that his lord was on a quest of the utmost importance, but even the toad seemed to know better than to voice what that quest was—even in Sesshomaru's absence.

"What did the bastard want, anyway?" InuYasha groused as she clambered off of Kirara's back at the sight of the village before them.

It was the seventh time he'd asked the question since he'd found her so Kagome took a deep breath before answering. _You're an adult, Kagome. Adults don't yell or roll their eyes at their friends—even if they really deserve it._ "I don't know, InuYasha," she told him for the seventh time. "He didn't really say much."

Miroku stepped off of Kirara's back behind her. Jaken had refused to ride on the fire cat's back, so he'd been left running after Kirara and InuYasha. "The whole situation was rather odd," he admitted, looking as perplexed as Kagome felt. "Sesshomaru-sama does not strike me as someone who seeks people out."

"Keh." InuYasha tucked his hands into his sleeves. "He sought me out."

Kagome shook her head. "No, Miroku has a point. He didn't seek _you_ out, InuYasha. He was just looking for the sword." She looked down at Tessaiga with a thoughtful expression. Sesshomaru had long since given up on the sword, especially now that he'd had his own, and since his own sword had appeared, he'd stopped directly looking for InuYasha. Once Naraku had been defeated, they hardly saw Sesshomaru, and only in passing when he was visiting Rin.

So what had changed?

It didn't occur to Kagome that Sesshomaru might be seeking a mate—the thought never entered her mind. She'd never seen Sesshomaru pursue a woman. She wasn't even sure Sesshomaru _liked _women. The only women who had liked him that she knew of—Sara and Kagura—had both died without a hint that Sesshomaru ever held them in the same regard. Kagome had never even pictured him in a romantic light. Sure, Sesshomaru was undeniably attractive, but his personality almost countered it. His beauty was akin in her eyes to the statutes in a museum... Beautiful, but not a beauty she could hope to obtain herself. A statute couldn't love you back and neither would Sesshomaru.

He was beautiful, but completely untouchable.

"Perhaps he was seeking something this time as well." Miroku walked alongside Kagome as they headed into the village.

"Hah! As if the great Sesshomaru-sama needed to seek out a filthy human woman." Jaken stamped the Staff of Two Heads on the ground aggressively.

"Well," Kagome allowed, "that's probably true." She couldn't think of any other occasion he'd sought out a human, woman or otherwise, with the exception of Rin. And Rin was a very special case.

Miroku opened his mouth to reply but his twin toddlers suddenly charged at him, effectively disrupting the conversation but not Kagome's obsession with revisiting why Sesshomaru had sought her out in the first place.

Kagome continued to ponder Sesshomaru's mysterious appearance and equally odd exit to herself as she headed into the hut she shared with Kaede and InuYasha on the occasion he felt like sleeping indoors. Her entire interaction with the inuyokai had lasted less than five minutes, but she thought about it over the next few weeks without success.

Whatever Sesshomaru had wanted, she had the feeling he hadn't gotten it. And as she recalled the fervor he'd pursued InuYasha's sword with, she had the feeling that Jaken was right: Sesshomaru _would_ be back.


	4. Chapter 4

Sure enough, Sesshomaru reappeared in the village a fortnight later.

He seemed no different than the last time she'd seen him, yet Kagome couldn't help but feel that there was something off about him.

It took her a moment to realize she was picking up on his yoki. The twinge of awareness of his power was tinged with a minor feeling of agitation, ruffling her own reiki into a mild desire to _do _something about it.

She approached him cautiously as he loomed outside the village. He didn't come inside the village, nor did she expect him to. Even when he'd visited Rin in the past, he had never stepped foot within the human village. Instead, Rin had gone to him, usually after Jaken had arrived to fetch her.

Since Rin was currently off with Kaede, Jaken, and Ah-Un, the two headed dragon who often accompanied Jaken and the inuyokai, she doubted he'd arrived for them. Sesshomaru wasn't the type of yokai to wait and she knew he could sense that Rin wasn't there.

Unfortunately, InuYasha blew her idea of a soft approach out of the water.

He reached his half-brother before she did and arrogantly demanded, "Keh. What are you doing here, yah bastard? You're stinking up my village."

Sesshomaru deliberately and visibility scented the air before retorting, "This one does indeed notice a stench, but it seems to be emanating from your direction, InuYasha. Perhaps this one should dump you into the nearest river to lessen the offense to his nose."

InuYasha cursed his brother as he leapt at him, blade unsheathed, just as Kagome knew he would. InuYasha would not take an insult like that lying down, especially when it came from his own half-brother.

Kagome readied her bow and shot in between the two, stopping the fight mid-step.

"What did you do that for, K'gome?" InuYasha demanded, reluctantly sheathing his blade at the look she gave him.

"Because you're on the outskirts of the village and we're still repairing it from your last fight, idiot," she hissed, waving a hand to several of the damaged huts.

InuYasha actually flushed as they both recalled the destruction that had followed his battle with a giant snake yokai. He shoved his hands in his sleeves and made a dismissive sound as he refused to meet Kagome's eyes.

"Rin isn't here," Kagome said as she turned to Sesshomaru. She knew it wasn't why he'd come, but she couldn't think of anything else to say.

"This one is aware," he answered her, though he didn't elaborate further on why he'd suddenly appeared by their village.

Kagome stayed silent for a moment, hoping he'd explain, but when he didn't, she sighed. "Then why are you here?"

She looked over at InuYasha, who was busy pretending he wasn't listening to the conversation. She'd effectively stopped the fight almost as soon as it had begun and Sesshomaru hadn't protested but... what if he'd been looking for a fight to start with?

He certainly had a way of starting one whenever he crossed paths with his half-brother. Did Sesshomaru miss those battles?

The idea was so ludicrous that she dismissed it almost as soon as she thought of it.

Finally, when he didn't answer, she repeated her question. "Why are you here, Sesshomaru?"

Instead of answering her, he asked, "What _are_ you?"

She blinked, taken aback by the odd question. "Uh... What are you asking, Sesshomaru? I think it's pretty obvious I'm a human priestess." She didn't really like the sound of being relegated to a _what_, but she didn't think she would convince Sesshomaru not to ask the question that way to anyone else. He was pretty much a law onto himself.

Kagome ignored InuYasha's dismissive snort.

Sesshomaru stared at her, unblinking, which unnerved her further. "The Shikon jewel was within you."

It wasn't a question but she nodded anyway. "I was born with it inside me." She gave InuYasha a sidelong glance, assuming that was where the inuyokai had learned about the jewel she'd once carried within her. The hanyo had once been extremely vocal about his displeasure of her breaking the jewel after it had been torn from her side.

"Yet you were unaware of its presence," he mused as she nodded again, "until it was removed."

InuYasha snorted again. "Why does that matter? The jewel is gone."

"Are you not curious, InuYasha, as to why the priestess succeeded when all others failed?" Sesshomaru's words taunted his brother, but this time InuYasha disregarded them.

"'Course she succeeded." InuYasha rolled his eyes. "She's Kikyo's reincarnation."

"Yet this one recalls that your first priestess had not been able to banish it." Sesshomaru challenged InuYasha's words with an easy, laidback air.

In fact, he said it so matter of factly, like it was the only possible answer, that even Kagome began to doubt. Not for the first time, Kagome wondered at the response. Even Kaede had assumed that was why she'd succeeded, but Kagome had thought it had to do with making the right wish. After all, that's what Grandfather had said caused the jewel to disappear from the world.

What if both answers were wrong?

"Are..." Kagome hesitated before continuing, "Are you saying that I had the power to banish the jewel?"

Sesshomaru met her gaze, his own golden eyes not so much as flickering as he studied her. "Do you?" he asked levelly, returning her question with another.

"Well how should I know?" Kagome threw her hands up in the air. "It's not like there's a way to test it." She stopped, not entirely certain that there wasn't. "_Is_ there?"

"Perhaps." His voice was calm and his expression didn't shift as she stared at him. "Perhaps not."

_Well, if he's going to be cryptic, he can go be cryptic by himself_, Kagome thought to herself childishly, and then realized that she didn't have much else to do to have an appropriate excuse to leave. Winter would soon be on the village by the well that would one day become a part of the metropolis of Edo but for now, it managed to eek out a quiet existence some distance away from Japan's capital city.

Preparations had therefore already been made for the long, cold season. Herbs had already been collected and stored for Kaede's feudal pharmacy, the rice and other crops had already been harvested, and what meat had been obtained by InuYasha's brash hunting had already been dried and stored. Some huts were damaged, as she'd reminded InuYasha, but she wasn't the one repairing them, nor would they allow their priestesses to help. It left her with little to do. The first snow was only a few weeks away, if that, though it never snowed here as deeply or as intently as it did in Hokkaido.

If they were lucky, they might get a few more house kills for yokai slaying, which would help increase their winter provisions, but there was no guarantee they'd get the additional work or that InuYasha would allow her to keep attending. He allowed her along dependent on his mood and Kagome was far too exhausted with bickering to press the issue whenever he seemed adamantly against it.

She sighed, stymied. "What do you want, Sesshomaru?"

He raised a brow in that infuriatingly mocking manner of his. "This one has already stated his intent, priestess. _He wants to know what you are_."

"Keh." InuYasha looked bored. "Find some other mystery, bastard. K'gome is human; even my nose can tell that much."

"This one is impressed that you are able to scent anything past your own stench, InuYasha."

InuYasha flushed but Kagome's warning look kept him from unleashing his sword again. "Keh," he repeated, huffing as he tucked his hands into his sleeves. "Ungrateful wench. Let the bastard harass you then. See if I care."

InuYasha looked away before he leapt into the trees above them, jumping from branch to branch until he disappeared into the forest he'd once been sealed within.

Kagome could only sigh again, more resigned than frustrated by the hanyo's stunted emotional growth. Though she'd hoped he'd one day learn to mature and grow past such antics, it seemed his growth only came in small bursts and set-backs and step-backs were common.

_Will InuYasha ever really grow up?_

"This one is aware of your origins," Sesshomaru spoke up, reminds her that he was still there with her.

Kagome paled for a moment, wondering how he'd found out—probably InuYasha and his big mouth again, she groused to herself—but then realized Sesshomaru wasn't referring to _where_ she'd come from, but rather _what_ she was. He was referring to her human origin, not her actual home.

"However," he continued breezily, "this one is also aware that it does not adequately explain _why_ you were able to do what you were able to do. No human has ever been feared by the jewel before, nor has had the power to purify a large mass before it spoiled its surroundings."

Kagome opened her mouth and then closed it. Now that Sesshomaru had put the question to words, she found herself wondering, too. Try as she might, she failed to come up with any other explanation than what she'd already had and eventually she shrugged, helplessly.

"Is this why you sought me out the other day?" she finally asked, relieved to resolve that particular mystery. She still wasn't quire sure how it related to her yokai friends, but she was sure, whatever it was, that it made sense to Sesshomaru.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have wasted the effort.

To her surprise, she saw a faint blush on his cheeks and she gaped. She hadn't even been aware that he _could_ blush. Fascinated, she stared, unable to help herself.

"That was a different matter," he said in that dismissive tone of his that told her he was done discussing that particular topic.

The blush, combined with his hedging, sent her mind down a different path. She pictured him meeting both Ayame and Shiori and trying to eviscerate them for some perceived slight at first, but then the blush had her mind changing gears again. Why would he blush?

Awkwardly, the only thing her brain could come up with was he was acting oddly like a man around a woman he liked. Not that she was foolish enough to believe that Sesshomaru _liked_ anyone, nor did she believe the rules of conventional attraction and dating would apply to a being like Sesshomaru, who likely would be far more content hacking a woman to pieces than kissing and loving her.

But the moment her brain went down the road, she found it wasn't easily distracted. She tried to picture him kissing or loving anyone, but no matter who she tried to place him with, the image just seemed...wrong. She couldn't even begin to imagine who he'd find worthy enough to stay by his side, let alone who would be able to actually take it a step further and capture his heart.

Who would be worthy enough to be loved by a man like Sesshomaru? _Could_ he even love a woman?

She coughed as she realized he'd been staring at her the entire time. "Don't worry," she said, feeling a need to reassure him. "I won't tell anyone. It's not like you're in love with them or anything, anyway."

To her surprise, his usual calm facade faltered for a moment. He looked stunned at her words and Kagome began to wonder if there was a kernel of truth to her words.

"Unless... You are?" she hazarded the guess, feeling more than a little foolish.

His eyes blazed, a faint crimson heating his golden gaze. "No," he said shortly.

"Right," Kagome said, more because she felt she had to say something and less because she felt she agreed. Or disagreed, for that matter. "Well, I really should get going, Sesshomaru. Winter's coming and I, ah, need to gather more herbs."

He raised a brow and glance at the dying vegetation around them with a pointed look as she flushed, realizing how flimsy her excuse was.

"Ah..." She trailed off, not quite brave enough to try again and offer such a blatant lie. "Right."

"This one will come speak to you again, priestess." He raised a brow, as if daring her to argue. "Be prepared. You will know when it is time."

With those ominous words, he left, leaving Kagome to wonder what on earth Sesshomaru wanted from her _now_.


	5. Chapter 5

"So," Kagome said, settling down beside Sesshomaru as she eyed her silent companion. "Are you going to tell me why you're really here?"

Sesshomaru had once again reappeared, this time about a week after she'd last seen him.

Well, reappeared was a little strong of a word; the truth was, Kagome had been on a walk under the pretense of collecting a rarer herb for Kaede before the first snows killed them all off—one that grew in poorly lit areas of the forest and was at its most potent late in autumn—and she'd stumbled across Sesshomaru dozing at the foot of the tree.

At least she'd assumed he'd been dozing but it was hard to imagine Sesshomaru allowing himself to be caught unaware and defenseless in his sleep in the first place. For all she knew, he'd been mediating or something and had known she'd been approaching the entire time.

Either way, he hadn't said a word as she'd walked up to him. He'd simply opened his eyes as she'd squatted down beside him and the tiredness he couldn't quite hide from his expression silenced her.

She wanted to ask him about the lack of sleep but she had the feeling he wouldn't answer her anyway. Still, when he didn't answer her, she commented on it anyway. "You look tired, Sesshomaru."

"Hnn." The daiyokai closed his eyes as he leaned his head back against the tree.

Kagome glowered at him, knowing her companion couldn't see her anyway. Still, he looked exhausted. "Sesshomaru..." she tried again but stopped, unsure what she'd been intending on saying. "If you're just going to sit there brooding, I'm going to head back to the village. I want to help, but I can't if I don't know what's wrong."

She waited, deciding to give him a few before she just gave up on him and left. Sesshomaru had never been particularly forthcoming and whatever was bothering him was clearly important. It had to be hard for him to seek advice, yet she had no doubt that was what he was attempting to do—rather poorly, but still, the attempt was obvious.

"This one..." Sesshomaru started and then stopped just as abruptly as he'd spoken.

Kagome waited. Patience had never been her strong suit, but if she pushed him to speak before he was ready, she doubted he'd tell her what was going on. She bit her lip to keep from blurting anything out.

"He is searching," Sesshomaru continued after another long silence.

Kagome couldn't hold her tongue any longer. "For _what_? For what I am? For my yokai friends? You're not making any sense, Sesshomaru."

She huffed as he opened his eyes. It was dim enough in the forest that she could see the subtle reflection of his eyes that mammalian predators had. It should have been disconcerting but Kagome was too preoccupied with her thoughts to notice.

He remained silent, the look on his face quietly pensive as if he was deciding how much to tell her—if anything.

"Has the hanyo... Has InuYasha acted any differently?" Sesshomaru's question caught her off-guard and she blinked, surprised.

"No...?" She thought back on InuYasha's behavior as of late, but there wasn't anything really different about him. He was still the same brash hanyo she'd always known. "Why do you ask? Did something happen?"

"So InuYasha is exempt then..." He sighed and ran a hand through his long hair.

Kagome sighed herself. "I'm beginning to think you're doing this on purpose," she groused.

"This one has consulted with Bokuseno, an old yokai magnolia tree who once served this one's honorable father." Instead of clarifying, Sesshomaru's words only confused her further. "It is the third time he has sought out the old tree in as many months."

"Sesshomaru..." She all but growled the word and to her surprise, she saw his lip quirk.

"Bokuseno would not share his counsel," Sesshomaru elaborated, still looking amused, "except to say that being born with a jewel like the Shikon jewel within would have far-reaching ramifications. The human body was not meant to contain such power, even within the body of a priestess. In order to carry it, the jewel must have made changes to your physiology. Otherwise, it would have been sensed long before you met InuYasha and it was removed."

Kagome considered that. "Well, it makes sense," she conceded, "but what changes were made?"

"Even Bokuseno did not know," Sesshomaru admitted. "The jewel was the only of its kind and you were the only human to be born with it within you."

_I'm not sure I like the sound of that_. Kagome scrunched her lips as she thought. _But I can't argue against his logic, either. _

"Alright," Kagome agreed, "but then what does that have to do with InuYasha? Or your other questions?"

Sesshomaru ignored her questions. "It is odd that the jewel feared you enough to seal your powers," he mused, staring at her. "As a human, you would hardly be a threat for long. You would die of old age in a matter of years. A jewel like that could afford to be patient, unless..."

"Unless what," she prompted, not sure she liked where the conversation was going or the peculiar look he was giving her.

"Is it possible?" He reached out and to her surprise, gripped her chin, lifting her head up to meet his golden gaze. "Your scent is human, but this one senses something not dissimilar to the jewel..."

Kagome felt panic suffuse her. "The jewel?" she squeaked. "But that's not possible, Sesshomaru! I wished it away!"

He released her chin as she staggered backwards. "Intriguing," he said, his expression quietly curious.

Kagome tried to sense the jewel within her but she came up with nothing. There wasn't even a lingering trace of it that she could find and though that thought relieved her, she was still perturbed that Sesshomaru could sense something else. After all, she knew InuYasha's senses were more acute than her own and Sesshomaru's had to be even more intense.

"I don't sense anything," she admitted.

Sesshomaru gave her a withering look as if to say 'of course not, human.' "Your senses are hardly equipped to find a change within your own body."

Kagome winced. "Right. So is that it?" She hoped it was; she was looking forward to her shaking off this odd curiosity of his.

"For now," he said, studying her for a moment. "Be prepared, priestess. This one will speak to you again tomorrow."

Kagome just wanted to cry at his words but she forced herself to smile and nod. "Of course, Sesshomaru! See you later!" She waved, never so happy to head back to the quiet little village in her life.

.

Sesshomaru watched her leave, his mind sorting through all he'd learned. If what he suspected as true, then the priestess might be the only being who met his strict criteria. As much as it pained him to admit, even to himself, that his future mate would be human in an all too eerily familiar path he's swore he'd never follow his father down, it seemed that the gods had conspired against him to leave him with no other choice. Of course, that meant _sharing_ a woman with his infernal half brother...

His nose wrinkled.

No, not sharing, not if he lay claim to her first. And, after all, how hard could it be? If his brash and irritating little brother could win the priestess over, surely it could not be so difficult for Sesshomaru himself to succeed. After all, Sesshomaru had far more to offer as a mate and he doubted even the priestess would be able to deny that.

But he also would not risk failure. He would court her and do so successfully the first time. He would take every step he could to show the priestess that he would be the superior mate, that his hanyo half-brother would pale in comparison. He would seduce her from InuYasha's side and ensure she never regretted her choice.

His instincts would allow no less. They would not allow him to share any more than they would allow discontent. The girl must be satisfied with him or the peace he sought would continue to evade him. Still, he was more than a little annoyed that of all the possibilities out there, there was only one who could even hope to meet his needs, and a priestess at that.

He forced himself to look past her humanity. It did not matter; the girl was not human, not _really_. She would not die as one did, not if what he sensed was true. She would not abandon his pack or their children to death, leaving him alone with these pesky urges. Their children might be hanyo but his mother had directed him to her and had hinted his children would be more than that. _What_, he did not know, but perhaps children with the priestess would not disappoint. Even InuYasha had proven stronger than he'd assumed at first, despite his mother's weak blood. The priestess was stronger so it stood to reason that their offspring would be stronger, too.

But, he reflected, she was human in the ways that mattered: courtship. He had little idea how to go about courting her but a moment later, tossed his concerns aside. He was Sesshomaru, the greatest daiyokai still living. He had surpassed even his great father.

There was nothing he could not do.


	6. Chapter 6

Perhaps, Sesshomaru reflected, assuming the priestess would be as easy to please as Rin was known to be had been his first and only error, but it was one he was quick to remedy.

His first attempt to please and win over the woman was to bring her to a field of flowers. It had been a move that always pleased Rin, but the priestess had stood in the field with a blank look on her face until finally she'd asked why he'd insisted on speaking there. He'd wondered if it was the location or the flowers themselves that had displeased her—but he knew so little about flowers and women that he couldn't guess and didn't dare ask.

It may well _have_ been the fact that the flowers had been yokai flowers that had bothered her, but they were the only flowers still blooming so late in the year. It had never bothered Rin if the flowers were yokai or not, but that didn't mean it wouldn't bother a priestess. Either way, she'd made it clear that she hadn't enjoyed the floral display and he'd quickly led her away.

He did not understand her.

He wouldn't be so quick to rush into a second attempt. He wouldn't allow for repeat failure. Instead, he kept a careful eye on the priestess and her human friends, trying to understand what she'd prefer.

It was vexing, but he kept his complaints to himself. She would no doubt not appreciate hearing that all he'd have to do is announce an interest in a single yokai female and she would consider his suit. If he proved himself an adequate provider and protector—and those were two the areas he doubted anyone would find him lacking—then they would have mated within a relatively short time. Days, perhaps, if not hours.

It seemed humans were different. He'd learned the monk had pursued the yokai slayer for the better part of a year before she'd accepted his suit and, gauging by the reactions of those around them, it was not an uncommonly long length of time.

Sesshomaru was not content to wait a year. These urges had become most troublesome over the last few weeks, more so now that he'd finally settled on an acceptable mate. He doubted his sanity would last another month, let alone a year.

So, the question remained: how did he convince a human woman and a priestess at that to accept him in a short period of time?

.

Kagome leaned back against a tree near a small stream in InuYasha's forest, grateful for the reprieve.

Her friends meant well, but they were driving her crazy. With the first snows due any day now, everyone was losing their minds at the inevitable stir crazy quiet that would follow. Winter here by the well was by no means as harsh as it could be in Hokkaido, but it wasn't easy, either.

Still, everyone had run out of time for any major tasks and so they focused on the minor and the inane. Sango had become convinced there was a hole in her home that cold air could pass through and her pregnancy brain had convinced her that her children would freeze to death if it wasn't fixed. She'd nearly had them tear apart the place to rebuild it before Miroku had calmed her fears, but since Sango kept waking up to nightmares of frozen babies, Kagome doubted that her friend would let the subject drop for long.

The only thing weirder than Sango's pregnancy-driven paranoia was Sesshomaru. His behavior had been nothing short of odd lately.

He'd asked her to accompany him to speak on a subject of great importance and she'd followed him to a field of blooming flowers. It _had_ been a pretty sight, she'd admitted to herself later, yokai flowers or not.

But the odd combination of Sesshomaru and _flowers_ had made her uncomfortable. If they'd been in her time, she'd have thought that he'd taken her on a date, but that seemed like the wrong word to apply to anything a daiyokai with a name like Sesshomaru did. She doubted he'd ever been on a date in his life.

Fortunately, he'd quickly picked up on her discomfort and they'd left.

She could feel the winter chill begin to seep through her clothes and she gathered her kimono a little tighter around her as if it would somehow help.

"Priestess."

She kept her sigh to herself, unsurprised to see Sesshomaru standing before her. She'd seen a lot of him lately but didn't dare complain. With the odd mood he'd been in lately, who knew how he'd react?

Besides, it was obvious something was bothering him and he hadn't been able to find an easy solution. For a yokai who was quick to slay whatever displeased him, that had to grate, and her heart, despite itself, went out to him.

"Hello, Sesshomaru," she greeted him politely.

"You are cold," he observed flatly.

She blinked, surprised. "A little," she admitted, unsure why it mattered to him. "But it's not that bad yet."

He studied her, his expression flat. "Come," he said, beckoning.

She stood and followed, expecting him to lead her back to the village.

Instead, to her astonishment, he led her away from the village, in nearly the direct opposite direction.

"Um, Sesshomaru? Where are we going?" she asked him curiously, unable to think of any place he might take her.

"To a place where you will be warmed," he replied after a moment.

"Okay... But the village is that way." She pointed even though he couldn't see her as she trailed after him.

"The village is inadequately prepared to care for your needs properly."

She stared at him, wondering if she'd somehow come across a kitsune who'd taken on Sesshomaru's form as some sort of a grand joke.

"But you left Rin there." She couldn't wrap her mind around why it was okay for Rin but not for Kagome.

"A fact that this one has already remedied."

"But I just saw Rin in the village this morning," Kagome said stupidly.

"Hnn." He gave her a look over his shoulder, one she couldn't read. "Jaken has gone to collect her."

"Oh." Well, that explained why the short yokai was missing. "Hey, but what about my friends?! It's not right to just leave my friends behind while I go some place warmer."

She heard him sigh and figured he sounded more than a little exasperated. "Then this one will ensure your pack is brought along after Rin arrives."

By that, she assumed that _Jaken_ was going to go back for her friends. She almost pitied the annoying yokai for having to deal with a pregnant and hormonal Sango.

Almost.

"Thank you." It felt odd to thank him for anything, but he didn't have to get her friends for her and she had the feeling he wasn't thrilled at the idea of dealing with them. For whatever reason, however, he'd decided to do it.

_For her_, a traitorous part of her mind insisted.

She pretended she didn't hear it.

.

The place Sesshomaru brought her to wasn't a cave or perhaps a small home, like she expected. Though Sesshomaru clearly came from a distinguished line, he didn't strike her as the opulent and extravagant type. Nor could she see him wanting to let humans invade his home or spend his wealth on them, even if he had been the type to flaunt his money and power.

The place he led her to, however, defied all of her expectations.

It was based deep within the mountains, located on a floating palace that loomed above. It was not as openly grandiose as the emperor's palace, but there was no denying the quiet opulence of the palace, either. The word shiro didn't fit, but neither did any of the other words she knew. The place was unique.

A waterfall ran down the front of it, stemming from a small river that led up to the front gate and then surrounded the palace. Beyond the gate itself was a massive wooden fence, elaborately carved to depict a multitude of different scenes. Some were battles, but others appeared to show courtship, families, and even trade. Cherry blossom trees and magnolia trees were spread throughout the landscape, along with a wide variety of flowering plants that seemed to defy the cold climate.

"Where are we?" she breathed, gaping.

"My home." His reply was quiet and he seemed to be waiting for her response.

"It's beautiful," she rushed to reassure her because it _was_.

"Hnn." He stopped to give her an odd look. "It belonged to this one's mother's clan."

Kagome immediately assumed the worst. "She's dead?"

He shook his head slightly. "She yet lives. When she married this one's honorable father, the palace became my inheritance. She has since relocated to the dowager's quarters at the back of the premises."

Kagome wasn't really sure what to make of that. In her time, it wasn't uncommon for grandparents to move out or to move into a different area of the house, if possible, when their children married, but somehow she doubted that was the case. Sesshomaru wasn't the type to open his home to outsiders if he'd recently married and was looking to start a family.

"Did your father ever live here?" she asked him as he led her within the beautiful palace. It was just as gorgeous inside as it was outside, in a way that quietly showed off its wealth.

"No." Sesshomaru's reply was short. "Mother only moved in after his passing."

She suddenly felt a little guilty for staying with him over the winter, especially with her friends. "It isn't necessary for us to stay." She sensed more than saw his displeasure and added quickly, "My friends and I really will be just fine in the village. It's not our first winter there and—"

"No." She felt his yoki swell, laden with his displeasure, and fell silent.

"Okay," she said quickly, not wanting to irritate him further. "I'm really grateful you're allowing us to stay, Sesshomaru. It's beautiful here; I've never seen any place like it."

Just like that, his irritation disappeared. "Hnn. Nor will you. There is none other like it anywhere else in the world."

She believed him.

"Come. This one will show you to your room."

.

Sesshomaru found the priestess sitting down on the wooden platform the palace rested on, her feet dangling off the edge with a bored expression.

He was concerned, but he didn't know how to remedy the situation. He had brought her pack to her as promised and she'd brightened, but her mood had slowly soured over the last few days.

"Are you well?" He sniffed discretely but noticed no hint of illness in her scent.

She didn't look at him, but kept her gaze trained on the hanyo as he chased the slayer's three young children around in the garden, playing a game Sesshomaru did not understand. "I'm fine."

His lips thinned. She still had affections for the boy and that would have to be remedied. Perhaps if he mated off the hanyo, she would be more willing to glance his way.

But to who?

His eyes drifted towards his mother's quarters beyond the garden and he recalled her many female servants and he made a decision. He would ensure the hanyo mated with one of them.

He didn't care who, nor would he allow InuYasha to dither. The boy would choose, and quickly, before Sesshomaru's patience wore thin.

.

Kagome watched the scene before her with mild amusement. InuYasha has recently been bombarded with women, all pure yokai, and while he pretended he hated the intention, the constant blushes gave his delight away.

She wasn't really sure why they'd gravitated to her brusque friend all of the sudden, but though her friends had worries, Kagome found the pang in her heart had lessened as it became obvious he'd moved on.

She'd wanted him to. She'd already begun to move on herself and it lessened her guilt to see him doing the same.

One yokai in particular, an inuyokai with honey brown hair and deep green eyes, had chased InuYasha down with a particular ruthlessness that Kagome couldn't help but admire. Her name was Satoko and she never allowed InuYasha to stray far from her gaze.

At one point, she'd even managed to 'accidentally' stumble upon the hanyo bathing, though Kagome suspected it was anything but accidental.

Currently, she was trying to convince the hanyo to take tea with her. InuYasha, knowing nothing of the tea ceremony, immediately refused to make an idiot of himself, but Satoko seemed to have a knack of getting her way. It wasn't long before she'd gotten him to agree.

Privately, Kagome suspected it wouldn't be long before Satoko asked him to marry her. In the yokai world, it seemed, female brazenness wasn't just accepted, it was often the norm in courtship.

"I wonder what their kids will look like," she mused to herself. "Would they be hanyo or yokai?"

She started as Sesshomaru answered her. "It depends on his own strength. She is strong enough, for a female, with a respectable bloodline. Mother will likely approve the alliance between him and her maid. He could do worse than to choose her."

Kagome ignored the part about Satoko's family because all she cared about was whether or not InuYasha would be happy. "She seems to like him a lot. I think he likes her, too."

"It does not bother you?"

The question would have been indelicate and insensitive from anyone else, but she'd long ago learned to expect his bluntness. "I want him to be happy," she explained, sensing his confusion. "Besides, if his children are hanyo, I get more fluffy ears to play with!"

Her sense of cheer was a little forced, but if he noticed, he chose not to say anything.

"It would be nice to have a wedding," Kagome continued idly, "but it'll be a little weird to have all of my friends married now but me."

He frowned in displeasure. "Do you not also know this one?"

"Oh." She hadn't considered that, but Sesshomaru wasn't likely to ever marry. "That's true."

She didn't dare remind him that they were all leaving in the spring. She didn't think he'd appreciate it.

"You will wed one day." His tone and expression were flat but she guessed he was attempting to be reassuring.

"Thank you." She smiled, appreciating the gesture, even if it was a silly one.

.

InuYasha and Satoko announced their intent to wed a week later and it seemed the entire palace staff had rushed together to have the quickest wedding Kagome had ever seen. Within three days of the announcement, they were wed, though InuYasha had still made it a point to let Kagome know she was important to him, married or not.

Kagome appreciated the gesture but she knew better. As had Kikyo, Satoko would always come first. And if there wasn't love yet, there would be soon. Her friend fell too hard too fast for him to accept a marriage with anything less.

Kagome watched the palace staff clean up after the wedding at a much slower pace than it'd been thrown together.

"She doesn't mind, right?" she asked, hearing Sesshomaru walk up. "That he's hanyo, I mean."

"She does not," his low voice reassured her. "She shall live with him here in comfort all of her days, having children that might otherwise have been denied to her. Mother does not often allow her servants to wed."

Kagome was distracted by that comment, forgetting she'd been about to ask if Satoko loved her friend. "Why not?"

He looked off towards the setting sun. "If they wed, she must replace them," he said simply. "It is most troublesome for her."

"Well I think it's sad," she announced. "Everyone has the right to happiness."

Sesshomaru seemed to study her. "Then why do you not wed?"

She flinched. "I guess I haven't found the right person."

It was an excuse that had quickly grown old, but the truth was she didn't have a better one. She didn't know why she wasn't attracted to anyone else besides InuYasha anymore than she understood why that attraction had faded.

"Hnn. Perhaps you are afraid," he challenged.

She shrugged. "It doesn't matter."

He gave her an odd look but fortunately he didn't press her further.

.

Sesshomaru's behavior subtly changed after that conversation. He accompanied her during every meal, whether her friends were present or not. He often invited her to walk and talk with him after Sango and Miroku had begun their old tradition of walking together following their own meals. With plenty of servants to watch the children, they were able to have small amounts of time to themselves again. Kagome had felt envious, especially when InuYasha and Satoko had also begun to do the same.

Whether Sesshomaru noticed her jealousy or not, she couldn't say. But it comforted her to know she wasn't on her own.

As winter set into the land below them and the snows began to fall, Kagome found herself spending more and more time with the daiyokai. Rin, she'd learned, had taken to playing with Sango's and Miroku's children and she seldom saw the girl. She suspected its fat Sesshomaru feeling lonely as well, though he'd never admit as such.

One evening, as they strolled along the lake in the garden after dinner, Sesshomaru asked her something that had her stumbling so hard she tumbled straight into the lake.

"What?" She sputtered as she tried to keep water from going up her nose, unable to believe she'd heard him correctly.

"Will you accept this one as your husband?" he repeated, his hand held out to help her out of the water.

She let him help her. He didn't so much as blink at her half-drowned appearance, though she knew she must look terrible. At the very least, she'd likely ruined another of the fine silk kimono he'd offered her upon her arrival.

"You want to marry me?" She stared at him, waiting for some sort of evidence that this was all a terrible joke.

He nodded, once.

"_Why_?" she demanded.

"Why does anyone seek a mate?" he retorted, raising a brow.

Her eyes narrowed. "Sesshomaru..."

He seemed to hesitate, though she was hard pressed to say Sesshomaru had ever hesitated at anything in his life.

"You are what this one has been searching for." The admission seemed to be torn from him but it didn't explain anything.

She sighed. "I don't know what that means, Sesshomaru. I'm not yokai."

"This one is aware."

"And I'm not from some amazing bloodline or powerful family, either," she continued, remembering what he'd said about Satoko.

"That does not matter to this one."

"But it mattered for Satoko," she countered, folding her arms across her chest.

"The hanyo had only his own power to bring to the mating. Satoko could offer lineage to their children. It made an agreeable mating." His attempt at an explanation was anything but.

"Then what? You bring the bloodline and lineage to our marriage?" She knew that people married for those reasons, especially in this era, but it was a pretty dumb idea in her mind. None of those things made for a happy and compatible marriage.

"Is that the value you seek in a marriage?" he replied and for a moment she'd thought he'd almost said _mating_ instead of _marriage_.

"No, of course not." She snorted. "But it seems important to you."

"It is not."

"Then what is?" she pressed. "I know what I want in a marriage. I want love, I want a partner, and I want to feel like our relationship is the most important thing we have. But what do _you_ want, Sesshomaru?"

He was silent so far she feared he wouldn't answer her at all.

If he didn't, as far as she was concerned, the subject was over and closed.

But then, he said, "This one seeks a partner as well."

It was the way he said it that seemed to echo her own sentiments, as if he wanted what she did but didn't know how to voice it.

"And you want children, too?" she asked, suspicious that he'd be okay with hanyo children.

His eyes seemed to brighten with desire, but it was much more than physical lust. "Yes," he said simply. "This one desires children."

"Even if they're hanyo?"

"Even if they're hanyo," he agreed, though there was something a little off about the way he said it. She didn't quite know what, but at least he no longer seemed repulsed by the idea of having hanyo children himself.

"So why me?" she pressed. "I feel like you could probably have anyone you wanted."

His golden gaze captured and held hers. "This one does not want merely anyone. Of all the females in Nippon, you are the only one who has exceeded his expectations."

"Well, that's nice to hear," she flushed, "but I want more than that in a marriage, Sesshomaru. I want love."

He seemed to hesitate again. "It is not a sentiment yokai share with one another," he said after a moment. "But if this one's honorable father could love a human, it stands to reason that he could learn to do the same. If you will teach him how."

There was a small blush on his own cheeks and he looked so uncomfortable that her heart went immediately out to him. He was trying; she could see how much effort he was putting in to something he clearly felt uncomfortable talking about.

Suddenly, all of his recent actions made sense. The flowers, the walks together, him bringing her here to his palace to ensure she was cared for. He'd been _trying_ to court her anyway he could, though he clearly hadn't know how to go about it. Despite his failure, and in spite of the fact that he wasn't a yokai prone to failure, he'd kept trying, even when his pride had likely suffered.

She even suspected he had a hand in InuYasha's own mating, though she decided to ask him about it later. No matter the reason, her hanyo friend was far more content now with his wife than he'd ever been and Satoko wasn't above doing what was needed to keep him in line.

But if it had been jealousy that motivated Sesshomaru, then it stood to reason that he cared for her more than he let on. Perhaps even more than he realized now.

She bit her lower lip. "You really want this, don't you?"

He nodded.

"You care. About me," she clarified.

He nodded again.

"Well, that's a good place to start." She smiled, thinking to herself that perhaps she could help him be what she wanted. He cared for Rin, so it was obvious that he _could_ love. He just needed direction and guidance.

"You accept?" His spine stiffened and she thought she saw a hint of a smile touch his lips.

"Well you're bringing so much to the table," she teased, "so how could I refuse? I could do a lot worse."

He froze. "If you do not want this one for himself—"

She waved a hand. "I never said that and you know it." She squelched in her socks and wooden sandals as she stepped closer. "I think I'm willing to work at this relationship if you are."

His small smile grew as he pulled her into his embrace, careful not to tug too hard, and he wrapped his arms around her, ignoring how she soaked through his own fine silk clothing.

"Thank you, Kagome," he said, offering her a gentle smile.

It was the first time he'd said her name that she could recall. Progress, she thought to herself with a smile. It was progress.


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: I'm weak to peer pressure and to shameless flattery. This epilogue is for everyone who took the time to review and write out what they liked and then express they wanted one more chapter._

* * *

Sesshomaru laced back and forth, wishing there was more he could do for his mate. This was one of the few things he couldn't aid her in and it tore at the fragile heart he'd only recently discovered.

"Keh, stop pacing, asshole. You're making _me_ tired."

He ignored InuYasha, even though he was repeating a similar sentiment. Kagome herself had finally kicked him out of the room, adamantly proclaiming that he was getting on her last nerve and that he wasn't to return until he could conduct himself properly.

Since he wasn't too sure what she meant by that, he wisely stayed away.

InuYasha snorted as Sesshomaru continued to pace, undaunted. "She's fine, okay? Women have been doing this shit forever. Kagome can handle herself."

Sesshomaru raised a brow. "This one looks forward to seeing your mate birth your first child, InuYasha."

InuYasha looked over at the closed doorway. His own mate was only just beginning to show, but she'd decided Kagome would need all the sympathy she could get. Satoko has joined Sango and the midwife in the birthing room.

Sesshomaru had no small amount of pride in the fact that he had mated Kagome months after InuYasha had taken Satoko but Kagome has been the first to conceive. It was a fact he liked to remind the hanyo of regularly, to Kagome's frequent disgust.

"Keh." InuYasha shoved his hands in his sleeves. "Satoko ain't half as scary as Kagome," he protested, though the way he shifted his weight suggested he wasn't too confident about that.

"I'm going to _kill_ him!"

Both males flinched as Kagome's furious shout rang through the hall. It was followed by several more threats, each more brutal than the last.

If she hadn't been welcoming their young to the world, he'd have found it rather exciting. Not too many beings dared threaten him—only her, and it always quickened his blood.

"I'm going to chop off that dick of his, so help me, if he even _thinks_ of touching me again!" Kagome roared.

"Yeah," InuYasha said quickly, "K'gome's definitely scarier. Better you than me, bastard."

"Hnn." Sesshomaru didn't bother to comment further. InuYasha was afraid of her rage, and rightly so. He'd been on the other side of her temper through much of her pregnancy and he had the rather idiotic tendency to holler back and argue when she became belligerent. It only served to increase her ire.

Such tactics didn't work on Sesshomaru. She still became irritated with him but he'd learned that openly expressing his feelings often shut her right back down. She was simply too astonished to fight back, especially in the face of his sincere compliments.

As Kagome's threats increased, her reiki grew stronger until it was practically whirling around the entire palace.

He sighed as he felt his servants and InuYasha try to creep out of reach. It seemed he would have to face his mate again and soothe her wrath.

He entered the room, careful not to make any loud moves that might surprise her. "You look beautiful," he told her and meant it.

"Liar," she hissed. "My hair's all matted and I'm so swollen that I can't see anything over this giant belly. I'm fat and sweaty and gross."

He stepped to her side and allowed her once again to grip his hand. "You are working hard to bring our child into the world. I am proud of your strength." He didn't wince even when her next contraction caused her to have a death grip on his hand.

"I'm faaaaaaaaaaat!" she wailed, yanking on his hand.

"You will regain your normal weight, Kagome," Sango soothed, patting Kagome's swollen stomach comfortingly. "Just look at mine."

Sango's newest child was less than a year old but she'd already lost every inch of baby weight.

"I hate you," Kagome growled. "It's not fair. I bet I'll be fat for _years_!"

"You won't," Sango soothed.

"What if he doesn't want meeeeeee." Kagome choked as another contraction hit her.

"He will." Sango smiled. "He loves you."

Satoko was watching the whole thing with a horrified expression, much to Sesshomaru's private amusement.

"Kill me now," Satoko hissed to Sesshomaru. "Before this thing is due."

"Hey! I don't wanna suffer alone!" Kagome glowered with all the rage a pregnant woman could muster.

"I can see the head crowning. You're doing great," Sango said, petting her friend's legs.

Kagome began to alternate between threats against Sesshomaru and threats against her friends, with sporadic comments about her own appearance.

It took another twenty long minutes for her to finish the delivery of their son, but before Sesshomaru could relax in relief, her contractions grew stronger.

To his astonishment, Kagome began delivering a second child.

_Twins? But I only sensed one aura..._

Sango, too, had been so surprised that she'd shoved Sesshomaru's firstborn at Satoko and rushed back to Kagome. Ten minutes later, his second was born, both placed together in a cradle that suddenly seemed much too small with two wriggling infants in it. Satoko and Sango immediately tended to Kagome to clean up and only after she had settled down again did they present their new children.

Sesshomaru watched with surprise as they latched and began to fed. Both boys looked identical, down to every last detail. Each had dark hair that shimmered silver before shifting back to black and their eyes were an odd but not unattractive bluish gold. They were hanyo in blood but not in power, he realized, but Kagome's own power allows them to appear completely human at will.

He'd never heard of such a thing, but it was something he'd have to reflect on later.

"Which was first?" Sesshomaru asked curiously, wondering which one would be announced as his heir.

Sango blanched as she looked at one and then the other. "I don't know!" She looked horrified. "I wasn't expecting another and I didn't stop to... Kagome, I'm so sorry!"

He frowned at the slayer as she fell to the ground and bowed.

"It's okay," Kagome said tiredly. "We weren't expecting it either. Sesshomaru can just raise both as the heir."

It was the best they could do, so he nodded his acceptance. He wouldn't dishonor is own offspring by trying to guess who rightfully had been firstborn. "Very well."

"We'll let you two get acquainted with your new arrivals," Satoko spoke up, ushering an apologetic Sango out of the room. "Just holler if you need us."

Sesshomaru looked down at the two babies, uncertain if he should try and hold them.

"It's okay." Kagome held one out for him and he took the child gingerly. The baby waved his fists at his father and Sesshomaru chuckled.

"He has his mother's spirit," he observed as his child made to hit him with tiny fists.

"Hmph. And your attitude." She blinked and he realized she was dozing off.

"Rest, Kagome. You did well. I'll look over our young for now." She didn't need his reassurances, he realized as he looked over her. She has already fallen asleep.

He shifted one baby and then the other to their crib Kagome had insisted he have built. He'd seen no others like it, but he had to admit it was useful as he tucked the newborns in.

He settled down beside Kagome, cuddling her worn body to his. Finally, his instincts had settled and he was content. He had a mate, babies of his own, and a pack that seemed to grow larger by the second with the newest additions of his mate's friends and their children.

_You were right, Father. I finally have something to protect._

Smiling, he kissed his mate's forehead and let himself doze off with her in his arms.


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: I know I said the fanfic was done, but everyone had to keep giving kudos and comments and asking for more and I reiterate that I AM WEAK TO PEER PRESSURE._

_So here you go! Another chapter. BUT I SWEAR IT'S DONE NOW. (Probably.)_

* * *

Sesshomaru walked into the nursery with an exaggerated air of annoyance.

Before him, his twin sons, Hiroki and Takahiro had innocent looks on their faces as if the toddlers hadn't been pulling another prank on Yosuke, their cousin and InuYasha's firstborn son. Normally, Sesshomaru wouldn't have minded the prank, especially since it was on InuYasha's son. He rather felt it demonstrated his sons' good taste.

However, Kaiya, InuYasha's daughter, was newly born and the boys' antics had woken her up as she let loose the mother of all screaming. Satoko had been quick to the scene to quiet her daughter but Kagome had decided that this situation called for a 'stern hand' and insisted Sesshomaru deal with his offspring.

So, Kagome had ushered her into the room as she and Satoko cooed over Kaiya. So far, Kaiya was the only female child if he didn't count the slayer's own spawn, but if Kagome's actions were any indication, Kaiya wouldn't be the only one for long.

Not that Sesshomaru minded. He had to admit, if only to himself, that he found himself desiring a daughter with Kagome's facial features.

"Daddy!" Takahiro chirped happily as he stumbled over to hug his father's leg. Takahiro was more rambunctious than his brother, but Hiroki was the more cunning of the two. Takahiro no doubt sought to soothe his father's ire but Sesshomaru knew which of his two offspring was responsible for this latest incident.

Still, he sighed. He had been diligent in teaching his children to call him Honorable Father, as he'd called his own father, but Kagome continually undermined him. She taught them to call him 'Daddy' and evidently, it stuck. He only hoped they could be persuaded to stop when they were a little older.

But what his children called him was less pressing than the matter at hand.

"So," Sesshomaru said flatly, remembering that Kagome had cautioned him against showing his amusement. It would be counterproductive, she'd insisted, and since she seemed more familiar with children—not to mention generally more comfortable with them—he deferred to her wisdom in the matter. "You thought it would be a good idea to use your toxicity to melt your cousin's bed."

Takahiro exchanged a guilty look with Hiroki. The twins, only two years old, demonstrated a cunning far beyond their years but it was tempered by all the nonsensical logic of a typical toddler—or so Kagome had claimed. They also were far too young to be able to lie convincingly, though that didn't stop them from trying.

"Nooooo," Takahiro denied, shaking his head.

"Accident," Hiroki piped up, no doubt deciding it was a plausible answer. "Oopsie."

Sesshomaru lifted a brow as he eyed the damage. Yosuke's bed had been completely melted down by the twins' acid, leaving nothing but a pile of disintegrated goo behind. The twins' shared bed nearby, of course, sustained no such damage.

Takahiro shifted nervously and Hiroki pressed his lips together as Sesshomaru waited. It wasn't the first prank the two had pulled and he felt confident in his approach by now to wait him out.

"Oopsie," Takahiro agreed weakly. "Lotsa oopsie."

"Oh?" Sesshomaru ran a hand idly through his hair. "Just as it was an accident when Yosuke's bed was covered in spiders just last week?"

The twins giggled at the reminder, their guilt showing on their faces as clearly as their delight. It _had_ been particularly memorable, Sesshomaru had reminded himself, especially since it was InuYasha, not Yosuke, who had discovered the spiders. InuYasha had let loose a battlecry and attempted to kill the spiders with Tessaiga.

It hadn't ended well. Not only had the spiders escaped unscathed, but InuYasha had damaged quite a bit of the nursery. It had taken a lot of manpower to rebuild the southern wall in the room the following day and all the children had been forced to spend the night in their parents' rooms.

"Spiders like him," Hiroki spoke up, shoving his fist in his mouth to hide his grin.

Takahiro nodded vigorously.

Sesshomaru's lips quirked but he forced back the smile. "Tell your honorable father how this 'accident' occurred."

"Weeeeell," Takahiro drawled, "we play."

Hiroki nodded.

"I see." Sesshomaru waited, folding his arms across his chest in a pose he'd learned from Kagome. It seemed to work on his offspring because Takahiro immediately caved in.

"And we play on Yoyo's bed," Takahiro blurted, speaking the twins' nickname for Yosuke. It was a ridiculous nickname, Sesshomaru thought to himself, but it annoyed his half-brother and thus amused Sesshomaru enough not to attempt to dissuade his sons. "And then oopsie!"

Takahiro clapped his hands together as his tiny claws glowed the faint green color of his yoki. Hiroki watched silently but Sesshomaru wasn't fooled. Hiroki had undoubtedly been the instigator of the little mishap, though likely Hiroki hadn't actually intended for Yosuke's bed to be damaged beyond repair.

He thought quickly, trying to decide on an appropriate response for his son's antics. "I see," he said again, thinking quickly. "Then you must do the honorable thing and give Yosuke your bed tonight."

Takahiro sulked as Hiroki's lips pursed.

"You will also tell your mother what happened," Sesshomaru added as the twins' face fell further. Whatever Kagome chose to believe, the twins were far more worried about pleasing their mother than their father.

"Noooo," Takahiro whined. "Don't wanna."

Sesshomaru raised a brow again and Takahiro sulked but fell silent.

"You will sleep with us until Yosuke's bed is repaired."

At that, the twins brightened. Though they had only recently begun sleeping in the nursery, they still enjoyed sleeping with Kagome and Sesshomaru on occasion and Kagome rarely turned them down if they asked.

Though he suspected Kagome would be relieved when the twins returned to the nursery. She would not get her chance at a daughter otherwise.

He ushered the twins out of the nursery and into the hall where his mate waited.

"Well?" she asked, raising a brow as she folded her arms across her chest. "What do you have to say to Yosuke?"

Her sons both looked at Yosuke, snuggled up with his mother in a shameless bid for comfort though he didn't seem the least upset. "Sorry, Yoyo," they chorused, not sounding at all sincere.

Kagome pressed her lips together at how mutinous her children looked and Sesshomaru knew she was seconds from giggling herself.

"Time for bed," he said to distract her, scooping up a son in each arm. As the twins settled against him, trying to hide their yawns, Kagome smiled up at him.

"It's never boring, is it?" she asked him quietly, smiling softly at her two sons.

Sesshomaru's lips twitched and this time he made no effort to stop the smile. "So it is," he agreed as they made their way back to their room. He settled his sons in the middle of the bed, watching with no small amount of amusement as they protested having to sleep through wide yawns.

As they settled down, Kagome pressed a kiss to each forehead. "They're going to be trouble," she said, chuckling. "They have your knack for it."

He pulled his mate into a gentle embrace. "As I recall, it is _you_ who has a knack for finding trouble," he reminded her. "It would seem the children inherited this quality from you."

"Oh!" Kagome's brows wrinkled and just as he knew it would, his needling caused her ire to rise.

"But," he added, kissing her gently, "it would seem I find this trait of yours most enchanting."

And just like that, her ire fizzled out as he chuckled quietly.

No, life was indeed never boring thanks to his mate. But he would not have it any other way.


End file.
